HONOLULU — Taiwan’s representatives to Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture conducted a special gifting ceremony and cultural exchange on the grounds of the Bishop Museum on Monday, June 10.
According to Lily Wen, a National Taitung University Ph.D student who was also an emcee at the event, the delegation gifted a traditional mouth harp, a bamboo percussion instrument, and a double nose flute to the museum’s collection.
She said the people of the Pacific are the “family” of indigenous Taiwanese, referring to the mass outward migration of people from Taiwan that is sometimes called the Austronesian expansion.
“We bring our heritage in this cultural exchange with the museum,” Wen said. “We came with our different ethnic groups to join and participate. The feeling in the chants and the songs — you feel the atmosphere and spirit.”
Held outside of the Hawaiian Hall Complex, the cultural exchange event featured musical performances and dances from Taiwan.
Hawaiian cultural artists then welcomed the Taiwanese delegates into the Hawaiian Hall Complex with an opening exchange of chants.
An exchange of gifts occurred inside the Hawaiian Hall, and was accompanied by music and dance performances.
April Yao, a magistrate from Taitung County in Taiwan, said their donated instruments are creations of their ancestors, but are still played by the indigenous Taiwanese today.
“We’re happy to have those pieces at the Bishop Museum,” she said.
She said five different ethnic groups participated in the cultural exchange.
Like Wen, Yao said the event helps emphasize the links between Taiwan and the rest of the Pacific.
“Thousands of thousands of years ago we were the same family — we just spread out to different continents and different places,” she said. “Now we are reunited.”
Bishop Museum is an official venue for the 13th Festival of the Pacific Arts and Culture, which is hosted by Hawaii. The festival started on June 6 and ends on the 20th.
The participants are various Pacific island nations and territories, including the CNMI.
